Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview: Cornerbacks

The Steelers have spent years searching for consistency at cornerback. Entering the 2026 season, they may finally have one of the league’s deepest and most talented groups.

Joey Porter Jr. continues to develop into Pittsburgh’s top young cornerback, while veterans Jalen Ramsey and Jamel Dean have the chance to completely reshape the secondary.

Throw in former veteran Asante Samuel Jr., experienced reserve Brandin Echols, and rookie Daylen Everette, and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has no shortage of options as training camp begins.

Joey Porter Jr.

The Steelers selected Joey Porter Jr. with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after acquiring the selection in the Chase Claypool trade. Porter began his rookie season behind Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace before forcing his way into the starting lineup midway through the year.

Since, he has become one of the most consistent corners in the league and enters camp seeking a long-term deal as he begins the final year of his current rookie contract.

The hope is that Porter’s contract doesn’t become an outside distraction, and the consensus is that he will sign an extension, but the negotiations are tied up as other defensive backs around the league (some of whom share Porter’s agent) are also seeking deals. Once the first of those dominoes fall, it would be surprising if Porter isn’t given a new contract.

Whether he “holds in” during the interim will remain one of the top stories as the week leading into the first camp sessions commence. However, there’s no denying that Porter enters his fourth NFL season expected to anchor the Steelers’ secondary as one of the league’s rising young cornerbacks.

Jalen Ramsey

Few cornerbacks in the NFL can match Jalen Ramsey’s resume. The fifth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft quickly became one of football’s premier shutdown defenders, earning multiple First Team All-Pro selections, Pro Bowl honors, and helping the Rams capture Super Bowl LVI.

After successful stops with the Jaguars, Rams, and Dolphins, Ramsey arrived in Pittsburgh in a blockbuster 2025 trade that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami.

There’s little doubt his name will be in the eventual mix for a gold bust in Canton. Until then, the 31-year-old is contractually tied to the Steelers through the 2028 season.

Ramsey immediately proved his value by contributing all over the field, finishing with 88 tackles, three sacks, an interception, and eight passes defended. His ability to line up outside, in the slot, as a deep safety, or even closer to the line of scrimmage gives Patrick Graham one of the NFL’s most versatile defensive weapons.

Jamel Dean

Dean spent seven seasons with the Buccaneers after being drafted in the third round in 2019. He developed into a reliable starter, helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV, and consistently handled assignments against opposing top receivers while establishing himself as one of the league’s better coverage corners.

Dean became one of the highest profile signings the Steelers made in free agency. Pro Football Focus ranked him highly among all corners, giving the team a one-two punch as a physical outside corner capable of starting immediately opposite Porter while allowing Ramsey to move around the formation when needed.

Asante Samuel Jr.

Samuel made an immediate impact after the Chargers selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Injuries slowed his progress, and cost him much of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but as soon as he became available, the Steelers added him.

Playing late in 2025, he responded with an interception of Tua Tagovailoa in just his third game with the team.

Re-signed for 2026, Samuel provides valuable depth and starting experience.

Brandin Echols

Echols earned a starting job as a rookie with the Jets after being selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he was almost always relegated to a reserve role.

Joining the Steelers last season, Echols appeared to have an inside track to be the team’s starting nickel corner until the Fitzpatrick trade for Ramsey. With Ramsey’s resume, Echols was once again destined to watch from the sidelines and await another opportunity: which would occur when Ramsey was required to fill in at safety, with the latter position depleted due to injuries early into last season.

Echols’ play can be defined as scrappy. He’s often one of the more consistent players on the field, and exhibited a knack for putting his nose into ball carriers, forcing three tackles for loss among his 48 combined tackles in 2025.

Even with the aforementioned bigger names ahead of him on the depth chart, Echols should find a role in Patrick Graham’s schemes which have often utilized a platoon of defensive backs.

Daylen Everette

The Steelers used a third-round pick on Georgia standout Daylen Everette after the former five-star recruit developed into a starter for one of college football’s premier defenses.

Unlike many rookies, Everette won’t be asked to carry a heavy workload immediately. Instead, he’ll have an opportunity to learn behind one of the NFL’s deepest cornerback rooms while competing for rotational snaps and special teams duties.

However, Everette is a name to keep an eye on. Over the past few seasons the Steelers have seen cornerback acquisitions blow up in their face: Patrick Peterson and Darius Slay come to mind. While we don’t envision that same scenario for Jamel Dean, Everette and Samuels are on the roster in light of Omar Khan’s offseason comments about never having enough cornerbacks.